NER contributor William Gilson has published a new book, Carved in Stone, about the art of New England gravestones, with photographs by Thomas Gilson. From Amazon: “Gravestones are colonial America’s earliest sculpture and they provide a unique physical link to the European people who settled here. Carved in Stone is an elegant collection of over 80 fine duotone photographs, each a personal meditation on an old stone carving, and on New England’s past, where these stones tell stories about death at sea, epidemics such as small pox, the loss of children, and a grim view of the afterlife. The essay is a graceful narrative that explores a long personal involvement with the stones and their placement in New England landscape, and attempts to trace the curious and imperfectly documented story of carvers. Brief quotes from early New England writers accompany the images, and captions provide basic information about each stone.”

William Gilson’s most recent contributions to NER were published in 33.1 and 30.4.

Carved in Stone is available at Amazon and other booksellers.